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Origin

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Creators

No real mind there...mechanical movement of basic directives across vast distances...so huge and simple and implacable...reptilian...as Animal Man said...too primitive to reason with...it brings mass extinction...destroy. Annihilate. Convert all life into death...urr...fuel for the warbringer...urrrnn...is there anybody? Is there...AM MAH-GEH-DUN!

Contents

History

Mageddon was one of many war machines used during the Ragnarok of the "Old Gods" that led to the destruction of their world and the subsequent creation of New Genesis and Apokolips. Mageddon was capable of unleashing primal anger in intelligent minds, turning people into hostile, warlike savages.

Unable to be destroyed, Mageddon was "chained" at the edge of the universe's space/time continuum inside what was described as an "immense sinkhole" of gravity. The gigantic planet of Wonderworld was created and the placed at the edge of the universe to prepare for the day that Mageddon would escape; it was populated by a number of gigantic heroes and super-beings. These heroes were led by Adam One and surrounded themselves with wonders from throughout the universe.

At one point, a Controller was assigned to Earth's space sector to prepare for the eventuality that Mageddon might target Earth and its population. Arriving there in prehistoric times, the Controller provided a primitive human male with vast intelligence and immortality. The man, now calling himself "Know Man", prepared for Mageddon's arrival. As time went on, knowledge of Mageddon somehow also found its way into the legends of an indigenous people inhabiting the area of present-day Mexico. The legend told of two beings, the "shadow god" Tezcatlipoca (Mageddon) and his rival Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent. Following a battle between the two, Quetzalcoatl warned that Tezcatlipoca would one day return to destroy the world. A chosen champion was destined to provide a vessel for Quetzalcoatl's own return so he could fight his enemy once again. Quetzalcoatl left his battle helmet behind, which ended up in the custody of a group that would call itself the Brotherhood of Quetzalcoatl, later simply referred to as the "Q Society" and similar names. The group trained a lineage of champions, the last of which would be the man named Uno, who would eventually become known as the superhero "Aztek".

In the present day, Know Man used Doctor Destiny to equip the entire Earth's population with superpowers while taking away all memories of already existing superheroes and -villains, thus turning them into ordinary people. Eventually, with Destiny's help, seven superheroes regained their memories and thwarted Know Man's plan, reverted everything back to normal and subsequently formed a new incarnation of the Justice League of America. Later, three of the team's members visited Wonderworld where they first heard of Mageddon's name; however, at the time, they simply considered it a cosmic affair far beyond their understanding, and did not connect it to Know Man's rather vague prophecies. At the same time, Aztek, who had joined the JLA not too long ago, learned that businessman Lex Luthor was one of the principal funders of the Q Society. With Luthor revealing that he considered the entire Tezcatlipoca prophecy a sham, Aztek resigned from the team, intending to find out whether his entire life up to that point had in fact been based on a lie.

The impending threat of Mageddon was also known to Orion and Big Barda of the New Gods, who joined a re-formed JLA at the behest of Takion, and the angel Zauriel, who had made Earth his new home in a mortal flesh body and was offered JLA membership shortly before Barda and Orion. Even though all three eventually revealed to each other that they had all joined the team for the same reason, they chose not to tell their teammates the truth just yet.

Eventually, Mageddon did indeed prove too powerful to contain; as it broke loose, its power to affect the minds of sentient beings came against Wonderworld, leading it to self-destruction save for one survivor know as the Glimmer who escaped by running "perpendicular to time." Mageddon then began its way through the universe heading towards Earth.

Mageddon's arrival was heralded by two red, eyeball-like "spores" which grew around people who had come totally under the sway of Mageddon. The first appeared sometime before Mageddon itself arrived, attaching itself to the telepath Hector Hammond while he was incarcerated in Belle Reve prison, causing the warden, guards and inmates to go on a murderous rampage which only stopped when the spore was destroyed. However, the prison riot turned out to be a mere distraction intended to lure JLA member Green Lantern there so the Injustice Gang, led by Lex Luthor, could analyze his power ring in order to find a way to neutralize it.

The second spore appeared just as Mageddon appeared in Earth's solar system and possessed Lex Luthor himself while the Injustice Gang attacked the JLA's lunar Watchtower, unwittingly playing into Mageddon's plans. Mageddon's approach was also signalled by increasing global political tensions and weapons trading, which built rapidly into worldwide war which every hero became involved in stopping.

Aztek, alerted to Mageddon's impending arrival by his battle helmet, confronted his enemy but was blinded in the attempt. JLA leader Superman and his teammate Orion also attempted to attack Mageddon head on, only for Superman to be captured and turned into part of its system while a lifeless Orion was left drifting in space.

In the meantime, JLA member Zauriel, who had sacrificed his life in the destruction of the JLA Watchtower, returned to Heaven and convinced the heavenly host to return with him to Earth and convince the planet's leaders to end the global wars, JLA reserve member Animal Man came up with a plan to stop Mageddon from turning the Earth population's against one another. Toegther with Wonder Woman and Black Lightning, he created a massive Purple Ray emitter to tap into the morphogenic field that is the source of Animal Man's powers. Glimmer, the last survivor of Wonderworld who had been found by JLA member the Flash, used his abilities to power the machine, causing a temporary jump forward in human evolution for everybody on the whole planet, giving every human being superpowers that could be used to attack Mageddon, thereby using the same strategy originally intended by Know Man. As every superhuman available and the entire populace of Earth attacked Mageddon, the machine unleashed its final fail-safe: letting the "anti-sun" at its core go supernova in a blast that would destroy half the galaxy.

Eventually, Orion was found by Aztek, who confronted Mageddon once again and fulfilled his life's mission by activating a self-destruct mechanism inside his helmet, thereby unleashing the four-dimensional energies stored inside the helmet and damaging Mageddon. Superman was able to fight the crippling despair Mageddon was bombarding him with thanks to encouragement from Batman (communicating via the Martian Manhunter's telepathic link). Finally able to break free thanks to Aztek's sacrifice, Superman found himself able to absorb all the anti-sun's energy just as well as he could absorb sunlight. Subsequently, he shut the warhead down permanently.[1]

Powers and Abilities

Powers

EmpathicMind Control: Mageddon's signature weapon feature was the ability to affect and enhance all the nasty, dark, vile worst inclinations within a sentient mind causing any species to turn itself upon each other, usually resulting in the mutual annihilation of said race and their host planet. Whenever he approached a new world, it would analytically select some of the more influential minds, particularly of a darker nature to start with. Carefully and expediently moving the necessary pieces into place in order to pave the way for its coming to said world lined within it's sights.

Gestalt Spoors: The war engine could produce eye like enzyme detachments of itself from it's very being to reach out and parasitically affect the minds of those it can use to to it's advantage. Often using two of which and sending them to latch onto said individuals whom the spores then use to relay the Mageddon's wickedness amplification even from afar, albeit to a more limited range than the prime being. They can also discharge laser blasts in the event that self defense is necessary but they seem to be tactically intelligent taking out the bigger threats to the war engines coming before anything else.

Energy Projection: The weapon of the old gods could also discharge a very lethal energy blast wave from it's own breath in the event that it is met with enemy resistance.

Self-Detonation: Whenever at its last resort the Mageddon weapon can initiate a suicide protocol within its negatively charged anti-sun. By breaching its power sources core this weapon can initiate a catastrophic explosion in the form of a supernova that could at minimum wipe out over half of the galaxy; the ultimate scope of its destructive capabilities may be greater still, as in the face of its forthcoming detonation the angels of the Pax Dei began drafting plans to replace the universe in the wake of Mageddon's wrath, suggesting it may be capable of annihilating all material reality.

Weaknesses

Anti-Sun Core

Notes

Mageddon was first mentioned (as Tezcatlipoca) as early as Aztek: The Ultimate Man #1 (1996), and subsequently also hinted in Justice League: A Midsummer's Nightmare #3, as Know Man's plan to prepare Earth for the coming of the "ultimate warbringer" is what leads to the re-formation of the JLA in the first place. The name "Mageddon" is first mentioned in JLA #12. Mageddon's eyes can first be glimpsed at the end of JLA #15, although they are colored differently than in later appearances. Further hints about Mageddon were made throughout Grant Morrison's run on JLA, until finally becoming the major "villain" in his final story arc World War III.

Mageddon's precise size is never specified, but appeared to be visibly far larger than the solar system's sun even from 12 light-years away. However, compared to the Old Gods, it was about the size of the average head.

Links

Footnotes

This character or group of characters are related to Jack Kirby'sFourth World, either the original concept and group of titles by Jack Kirby, or any of their subsequent adaptations by other creators. This template will categorize articles that include it into the Fourth World Characters category.

Justice League Villain

This character is or was primarily an enemy of the Justice League, in any of its various incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the category "Justice League Villains."